Director, Public Health Division

Lillian Shirley, BSN, MPH, MPA is the Director for the Oregon Public Health Division. Ms. Shirley holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of the State of New York. She also holds a master’s degree in public health from Boston University and a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Ms. Shirley has been a local and a national leader in advancing public health. Most recently, she led the Multnomah County Health Department. Before coming to Oregon, she was the Director of Public Health for the city of Boston and was also the first executive director of the Boston Health Commission, where she led the agency through the establishment, design and organization of the new public health authority in Boston.

Ms. Shirley has been a leader in Oregon’s effort to transform our state’s health care system. While at Multnomah County Health Department and on the governing board of Health Share of Oregon, she helped launch one of the first Coordinated Care Organizations in the state. She also served as the vice-chair of the Oregon Health Policy Board, and has played a vital role in the state’s move toward a health care system that works better for us all.

Ms. Shirley has served on the boards of the Public Health Foundation, the Oregon Public Health Institute, Portland Sustainable Development Commission and served as President of the National Association of City and County Health Officials. She is also adjunct faculty at the OHSU School of Medicine. She received the National Public Health Institute’s Balderson Award and has been recognized by Research America as a public health hero.

Deputy Director, Public Health Division

Priscilla Lewis, RN, MBA is the Deputy Director for the Oregon Public Health Division. Ms. Lewis has decades of experience in the health care field, including 13 years as Providence Health & Services’ Executive Director for Community Services and Development. She has myriad experience with building community partnerships and a solid reputation as an advocate for health system transformation.

Ms. Lewis has served on boards and committees for a variety of organizations, including Bridges to Housing, Project Access NOW, Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Primary Care Association, Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon and the State of Oregon Public Health Advisory Board.

She has an MBA and BS from West Virginia University, and has also worked as a registered nurse.

State Epidemiologist and State Health Officer

Katrina Hedberg, MD, MPH, is the State Epidemiologist and State Health Officer at the Oregon Public Health Division. Dr. Hedberg received her undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1980, and her medical degree from Oregon Health Sciences University in 1985. She completed her residency training at Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Hedberg earned her master's degree in public health from the University of Washington in 1990, and is board certified in public health and preventive medicine.

Dr. Hedberg has been with the Oregon Health Authority for the past 20 years, and has worked in a variety of public health programs, including HIV/AIDS, acute and communicable disease, sexually transmitted diseases, injury epidemiology, chronic disease prevention, tuberculosis, and health statistics. Dr. Hedberg is an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Administrator, Center for Health Protection

Steve Wagner, MPH, JD is the Administrator for the Oregon Public Health Division's Center for Health Protection. He earned his bachelor degree at Case Western Reserve University in biochemistry and received his master in public health, concentrating in epidemiology, from the University of Michigan. Mr. Wagner has been admitted to the Ohio Bar and earned his juris doctorate from Capital University.

Mr. Wagner has spent most of his public health career at the Ohio Department of Health. He began as an epidemiologist addressing community cancer concerns and chronic disease epidemiology. In 1996, he created the emergency response program at the Ohio Department of Health which addressed natural disasters and outbreaks, including efforts to halt the spread of raccoon rabies into Ohio. He led the Division of Prevention and Health Promotion, which included responsibilities for chronic disease, public health laboratory, infectious disease, environmental health and radiation protection.

Administrator, Center for Public Health Practice

Tom Eversole, DVM, MS is the Administrator of the Center for Public Health Practice. Dr. Eversole grew up in Virginia and earned a BS in biology from Virginia Tech. He went on to earn his veterinary degree at the University of Georgia and a post-doc masters in veterinary surgery at Colorado State University, where he completed his residency in large animal surgery.

Dr. Eversole served on the faculty at UGA and later went into private equine practice in Maryland. As the AIDS epidemic unfolded in Baltimore, he changed careers and went back to school to earn an MS in counseling psychology at Loyola University. While attending Loyola, he taught residential, court-ordered, severely emotionally handicapped youth at the University of Maryland psychiatric hospital. He also served as a national trainer in the fields of substance abuse prevention, multicultural leadership and organizational development. Upon completing his degree in 1989, Dr. Eversole worked as a psychotherapist in the AIDS Service at Johns Hopkins University Hospital under a project to integrate mental health and primary care. From 1992 to 1997, he worked with the American Psychological Association, directing its nationwide AIDS training program for psychologists.

In Oregon, Dr. Eversole has worked at Oregon Public Health Division, managing the HIV prevention program and later administering Oregon's HIV/STD/TB programs. As Benton County Health Administrator from 2000 to 2008, he was responsible for public health, mental health, developmental disabilities, substance abuse and primary care programs. In 2008, Dr. Eversole began working at Oregon State University to lead the strategic development of a College of Public Health and Human Sciences. The new college was established June 9, 2011, and accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) anticipated in July 2014.

Dr. Eversole has served on the board of directors of the Community Health Centers of Linn and Benton Counties, as vice-chair of CLHO and as Chair of the Oregon Public Health Advisory Board (PHAB), and as president of the Oregon Public Health Association.